Meeting of the Rotary Club of Eureka
August 12, 2013
August 12, 2013
Lunch Menu: Salad bar, fresh fruit, stuffed bell peppers, fried fish, hush puppies, rolls, cheesecake
Called to order by President Ziggy at 12:31pm
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Dave Parris
Visiting Rotarians: Dax Williamson was introduced by Rich Whitaker. Dax recently purchased part of Rich’s practice when Rich retired. Bill Morrill from Southwest Rotary Club.
Anniversaries: Matthew Owen, Dave Dillon, Kim Bauriedel, Walt Shimasaki, Ken Stodder
Stacy Lane presented a $5 gift card to Steve Lafferty. Steve was the first person to guess who the most searched Rotary Club of Eureka person was, that had led people to our Rotary Blog. Nobody guessed the right person but Steve was the first to guess so he was deemed the winner. The answer was… Lane Strope.
Tim Foster and Bob Morris would have been fined but they weren’t there. Does that mean an increase in fines next week?
Gregg Gardiner was fined $200 for fining his wife $200 two weeks ago. Gregg received a Rotary Club of Eureka Key to Success T-Shirt which helped ease his pain.
Spengler Raffle: $10 to Gary Todoroff and $10 to Dick Storre
Guest Speaker
Our guest speaker was Rotary District Governor 2013-2014, Helene Campbell. Helene has been a Rotarian for 23 years. She’s a member of the Rotary Club of Sebastopol. She’s traveled to 12 international conventions, been involved in numerous Rotary committees, etc. and in 2010 toured Vietnam and worked on a clean water project there. She was Assistant District Governor in 2010. She has been married for 51 years to past District Governor, Bruce Campbell. They have 3 children and 11 grandchildren. She is a registered nurse with a degree in hospital administration. (Standing ovation)
Helene said she had just attended a board meeting previous to this meeting and was exhausted from hearing about how much Rotary Club of Eureka does in their community. She thanked the club for their work.
She went on to say all Rotarians are members of the membership committee. We all have the responsibility of inviting others to Rotary. She told us a story about a young girl who was 11 years old whose first experience with Rotary made her think, “what a bunch of nice men” (this was prior to women being allowed to join). Then her father-in-law, a Rotarian, came to live with her and she went to some Rotary meetings with him and some various events. In 1979 her husband joined Rotary and she helped out at his side at a variety or Rotary events and fundraisers, etc. Then she became a business owner, was president of the Chamber of Commerce and in 1990, 40 years later, she was asked to be a Rotarian. She is so proud to be a Rotarian, proud of the power and achievements of Rotary. Please don’t make anybody wait 40 years. Ask somebody today to join Rotary.
This year’s Rotary theme is “Engage Rotary, Change Lives” Ask yourself- are you involved in Rotary? Are you actively involved in a committee, do you attend fundraising and service events. Do you attend District functions? She asked president-elects from all over the district why do you attend Rotary and the answer was fellowship. Fellowship is available to everybody all over the world. She encouraged all Rotarians to make up at other clubs. When you travel, attend Rotary meetings. You will make new friends, be amazed at the diversity of Rotary and she guaranteed that you will experience the best meeting of your life, outside of your club environment.
Upcoming district events:
- November 9, 2013 – Rotary Foundation Dinner at Fortuna River Lodge
- May 16-18, 2014 – Rotary District 5130 Conference Doubletree Hotel, Rohnert Park
She asked us to remember that each project we participate in changes lives. Look at all of the lives being changed with the Winship project our club is involved in. She gave some examples of projects she has been involved in that changed lives.
Her club cooks an annual Christmas dinner for the community on Christmas day. One year a mom and two daughters came and after a Christmas feast the children were invited to pick out presents from under the tree. The family was very grateful and it was the only Christmas the children would have that year.
The Gates Foundation is now donating $2 for every $1 donated by Rotarians to eradicate polio. When Helene was a freshman in high school she toured a hospital and walked through a ward of children who could only breathe with the help of an iron lung. Later the student who gave her the tour came down with polio herself. Polio alters people’s lives. Helene is proud to be part of an organization that is helping to eradicate polio. She talked about one man, Dr. Santos from the Philippines who had the idea to end Polio and it was his idea that grew and launched the worldwide effort that Rotary has undertaken. Today Polio is almost eliminated. We are very close but we need Rotarians to continue to donate to polio so we can fully eradicate this disease. She asked us to remember the power of each individual to make significant changes in the world.
She has asked each club to take on a River project this year as Rotary’s commitment to being green. Our Winship and Boy Scout projects qualify.
She said publicize what you do. Let the community know about the work you do. Tell your Assistant Governor, Carlton Nielsen and Bert Campton know so they can communicate to the District.
Achieving and meeting goals is up to each individual. It’s important to be open to new ideas, participate and know that the person’s life who will change the most, is your own.
(Standing ovation).
President Ziggy presented Helene with a Key to Success T-Shirt and reminded all Rotarians to invite a prospective Rotarian to a meeting.
Meeting Adjourned: 1:18pm
Respectfully submitted,
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